Committee Chair

Second Advisor

Third Advisor

Rights

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to (a) compare the interpersonal dependency scores of men in treatment for domestic violence to scores of men in the community, (b) compare interpersonal dependency scores of men attending treatment voluntarily to court-mandated men, (c) compare the average number of incidents of separation and loss between men in treatment and the community sample, and (d) explore the relationship between psychological maltreatment and interpersonal dependency. Included in the study were interpersonal dependency scores of sixty-seven men in treatment for domestic violence and 60 scores from men in the community. In the comparison of voluntary to court mandated men, there were nineteen men who were attending voluntarily and 48 who were court mandated to attend treatment. Results indicated no differences in interpersonal dependency scores between men in treatment for domestic violence and men in the community. No differences were found between voluntary and court mandated men on the measure of interpersonal dependency. There was a statistically significant difference between the men in treatment for domestic violence and the community sample in the average number of separation and loss events, such that men in treatment for domestic violence reported higher numbers of these events than the men in the community sample. A moderate positive correlation was found between dominance-isolation behaviors and emotional reliance on one’s partner. Implications for treatment and future research are discussed.